Secret Santa gifts gone wrong

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Emmanuel Perez

Nicolas Rico posing with the two elephants he received in a secret Santa exchange

In a random survey of 100 Morton East Students, 68% of the students said they had participated in a secret Santa exchange.

A secret Santa exchange is a fun way to anonymously exchange gifts with a group of friends, your family, or co-workers. Not being able to reveal who you bought a gift for until the gift opening day is a thrilling experience. A secret Santa exchange is also a way for everybody to receive a gift and not feel left out. Secret Santa exchanges sound like a good idea…until you end up with a not so great gift.

“I have a really big family so every year we make two secret Santa’s. I saw two of my family members fighting about something and I later found out they were fighting over who should get me a PS4. So I was all excited until Christmas came and I ended up getting a PS4 controller and game …but no PS4,” sophomore Jesus Gomez said.

Jesus wasn’t the only one who received something for a console he didn’t even own.

“One time, I got this one video game through secret Santa and it was for a console I didn’t have. So that really sucked. All they said was, “Siempre estas con tus juegos (you’re always playing your games). I was really angry about it for a few days,” Morton alumnus Ariel Leon said.

These terrible secret Santa gifts sparked up the frustration.

“The last time I did a secret Santa thing was in third grade and we put all our gifts in a box. My teacher went in alphabetical order so I was one of the last people to pick a gift. I got a duck shaped soap… it smelled weird and I got so mad I tried throwing it away, but my teacher didn’t let me,” junior Sarah Vasquez said.

Secret Santa is not about buying something YOU like and hoping they’ll like it too.

“I was so excited to give my gift because it was my first secret Santa and I spent a lot of time thinking about what to buy. So when it came down to it I gave my gift and I was pretty happy, but then when I got my gift I was confused. I got two glass elephants. I didn’t really get it, but I eventually found out they they’re meant for good luck,” senior Nicolas Rico said.

There’s always that one gift that ends secret Santa for one faithful gift giver.

“I was pretty young and everybody just wanted toys or junk food. So I got my secret Santa this cool remote controlled toy car and a big bag of chips and big soda. I spent more than twenty five dollars on my gift and all I got in return was a 25 cent bag of hot chips. Never doing a secret Santa again,” sophomore Alex Rodriguez said.

Secret Santa exchanges don’t always go the way you want them too, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t participate in them.

“I think it’s that off-hand chance that you will get something weird that makes it fun. It’s all about the unknown surprise,” English teacher Ms. Sharon Fuentes said.